The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 12, 1977
Filed:
Jun. 07, 1976
Thomas Edward Hayes, Goshen, IN (US);
Johnson Controls, Inc., Milwaukee, WI (US);
Abstract
A method and control arrangement for a heating system including solar heating apparatus and a conventional fuel-fired heating apparatus wherein heat load of the heating system and solar heating source capability are compared, and the heating system is switched to solar heating whenever the heating capability of the solar heating apparatus exceeds the heat load of the system, the heating system being switched to the conventional heating apparatus only when the heat load exceeds the heating capability of the solar heating apparatus. The control arrangement includes a first sensor which provides a first output indicative of heat load for the system as indicated by average fuel consumption by a burner of the conventional heating apparatus or the duty cycle of a thermostat of the system, a second sensor which provides a second output indicative of the temperature of a solar heated medium, and a controller which responds to the first and second outputs to provide heat for the system from the solar heated medium whenever possible. In one embodiment, the controller includes a differential temperature sensing device, and in a second embodiment, the controller includes a microprocessor system.